Don 3 announcement delayed due to Salaar’s teaser: Is teaser clash the new worry for filmmakers?

The announcement of actor Ranveer Singh reportedly replacing actor Shah Rukh Khan in the Don franchise was supposed to coincide with Singh’s birthday on July 6. But, the teaser launch of Prabhas’ Salaar led Don 3 makers push their plans, with no definite date in sight, as they also have to consider the planned release of Jawan’s teaser later this month.

While clashes between movies have long been a cause for concern among filmmakers, the emergence of insecurities surrounding clashes between teasers appears to be a relatively new phenomenon in the industry.

“When two teasers are released simultaneously, the attention from the audience gets distributed. Toh agar mauka hai toh what’s the harm in releasing it another day,” says director Anees Bazmee, adding it’s not about competition. He goes on to recall how makers would put out the news in papers in the past and states, “But ab toh poora zamaana hi alag hai. Every producer is conscious in planning and I don’t find it wrong because if someone is putting their heart and soul into a film, he would want to market it well.”

In agreement with Bazmee is producer Ramesh Taurani, sharing that whenever they market a film, the team tries and figure out what else is coming out to avoid the clash. “It’s better to not let media’s attention get diverted for that one particular day. It becomes all the more important in today’s day and age because social media is very quick to pick it up, to create reels and other forms of content. And most importantly, to avoid any kind of comparisons,” he explains.

Director Mrighdeep Lamba, who is awaiting the release of his film Fukrey 3 later this year, but he also had to postpone it to avoid clashes with other big banner movies agrees with Taurani. “Social media is too crowded and there are already fan made teasers and trailers doing the rounds. So in good sense, one would avoid coming out in a crowded situation,” he says but is quick to add, “Having said that, I am sure there must be another reason and Don 3 teaser did not release, and it has anything to do with Salaar’s teaser.”

Calling the teaser clash “sheer foolishness”, trade analyst Komal Nahta says, “I don’t think it’s being done because of Salaar but if there any truth to it, I don’t feel it’s a big deal. Teaser is a 1 min video and if two of them come out on the same day, heavens won’t fall.”

Trade expert Atul Mohan believes since nobody is spending any money in watching the teaser, it does not really matter how many teasers are released in a day. “Moreover, after a teaser is released, the discussions around it last only for a couple of hours. Jisko react karna hai, wo kardega,” he adds.

While most of them mentions social media buzz as the reason for avoiding clash, director Anil Sharma, who has Gadar 2 lined up for release, feels this discussion holds no potential. “I feel content has to be strong enough to catch people’s attention. If that is good, you do not have to bother about which film’s teaser is released with yours or whether the audience is going to watch it or not. Unhe accha lagega toh wo 100 baar bhi dekhenge, aur nahi accha lagega toh doosri baar bhi nahi dekhenge.,” he says.

Sharma further recalls the bygone era when all these discussions would not even matter. “Pehle toh 4 films bhi ek saath release hojaati hain. In fact, my film Gadar was released along with Lagaan and both did very well. Nothing affects good content,” he tells us.